


Don't you dare let go of my hands

by orphan_account



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, also death of parents, bisexual seokmin because i said so, seokmin and chan are brothers just trying to get by, shitty references, the coffee shop and florist au no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-02-26 17:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18721621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Seokmin spends his day making coffee, bullying Chan and singing his heart out in the shower. He thinks he could finally get used to living like this. But then the florist opposite gets a new part time worker and suddenly his future seems a lot more exciting.Aka Seokmin and Chan are dysfunctional brothers running a dysfunctional coffee shop and Josh is unwillingly pulled into their lives one coffee at a time





	1. Vine references wont get you laid but maybe this will

The sun was just starting to rise above the horizon, filtering warm light through the large windows of the cafe. Seokmin sighed as he flipped over the open sign and began wiping down the tables one last time before the customers started to appear. Even after a year he still hadn't adjusted to waking up so early - but what can you do.

The telltale ring of the doorbell went off and Seokmin looked up to see a regular of his, Jeonghan, make his way over to the counter.

“Good morning, just the usual?” asked Seokmin, knowing full well what the mans order would be, but asking out of politeness anyway.

“Yeah please, oh and a caramel latte for Josh,” 

Seokmin began working on the coffees. Jeonghans order in the summertime was an iced americano with a double espresso shot in the morning and a single shot in the afternoon. The elder liked his coffee, although at this rate it was probably bordering on an addiction.

“So, Josh?” questioned Seokmin

“New kid at the shop, well I say kid but he’s only like... 2 months younger than me,” replied Jeonghan with a chuckle, he had a habit of babying everyone around him, no matter their age.

“You know you’re not as ancient as you make yourself and your back out to be,”

“I have scoliosis leave me alone!”

“Okay grandpa,” replied Seokmin with a laugh.

Jeonghan has been a regular at the shop for about 3 years now, even before everything that had happened, and Seokmin was thankful for the mans custom, and general kindness towards him and Chan. He seemed to have this paternal instinct which was always on autodrive, to the point where Seokmin had to remind him that yes, he is a legal adult, and no, he does not need him to cook him food.

“Where’s Channie? He’s usually down by now…” muttered Jeonghan, small frown appearing on his face.

“Ah there's that instinct I was talking about” thought Seokmin, chuckling to himself slightly as he places the drinks on the counter.

“He had his dance recital last night so I said he could have the morning off,”

“A whole morning! You’re too kind to your little brother,” laughed Jeonghan, “But how did it go?”

“Brilliant as always, according to his couch there was a few scouts from the big dance groups watching… but don’t tell Chan that he doesn’t know,”

“Oh, are you keeping it as a surprise?”

“The boys too stubborn to apply so I thought that… if he had a confirmed place then... hopefully…” Seokmin smiled to himself as he spoke, feeling himself choke up at the mere mention of his brother “Hopefully he will take it!”

“I hope so too,” replied Jeonghan, picking up his drinks and turning to leave “Oh and Seokmin?”

“Yeah?”

“Come round the shop sometime, I think you and Josh would get along,” exclaimed Jeonghan, smiling as he left the building.

After that a few more regulars made their way into the shop. Seokmin had gotten to know the customers who came in before 8am pretty well. The shop wasn't busy in the earliest of hours and small talk was often preferred to the other option of awkward silence. First came Seungcheol, friend of Jeonghan and some big start at one of the large finance companies down the road. He was usually in a rush, muttering something about meetings or presentations or “That bloody rookie who cant even use a printer like seriously what the fuck Seokmin, what the fuck.”. That bloody rookie, known to the rest of the world as Seungkwan, usually came 20 minutes after, asking for a latte with anywhere between 1 or 4 shots of espresso depending on what big important event was happening that day. Finally there was Wonwoo, a quiet but funny university student studying philosophy who for some reason unknown to man decided that he could cope with 8:30 classes. Spoiler: he really doesn’t.

8am comes along and with the tick of the hands on the clock comes the flood of customers. Seokmin often enjoys this hour most, the cafe comes alive and there's this buzz that isn't found anywhere else. He sings along to whatever is on the radio, pretending not to notice the customers putting tips into the jar when he belts out the high note in When We Were Young. He hasn’t been able to perform since the accident but at least here he had a captive audience, unlike the time he performed to about 3 very drunk people in that dingy club down south street. The morning goes by in a blur. Not that it was necessarily a busy day, but without Chan helping everything just took a bit longer. 

Chan makes his way downstairs at about 12, still tired from the night before but with enough energy in him to at least work the till. They were a good team, entertaining the customers with their petty arguments and mild bullying and, if Seokmin could say so himself, they made pretty damn good coffee too. He left Chan alone at the counter for a bit to tidy the tables and water the plants, all generously donated to them by Jeonghan, and chatted to the group of uni students sat by the front. Wonwoo from earlier was back for his midday coffee and he had bought along a few of his friends, who he introduced as Mingyu and Vernon. Since Seokmin had been left in charge of the cafe he hadn’t had time to go out, or do anything really. He worked 7 till 7 Monday to Saturday, and then on Sunday spent his time doing the finances for the shop, so these little interactions however small meant a lot to him. 

The lunchtime rush ended and the two brothers took a small break, sitting on the stools by the counter and just enjoying the calm.

“You did really well last night Channie,” announced Seokmin proudly.

“Thanks! I’m glad its over though the last few weeks have been Hell…” groaned Chan.

“Good to know Soonyoung is still a stressy bastard,”

“Maybe you could take one for the team and help him ‘de-stress’ again,” Chan smirked at his own comment, his slim fingers acting as quotation marks as if it wasn’t Seokmin who had originally said it.

“It happened ONCE!,” exclaimed Seokmin grabbing one of the pastries from the side and threatening to throw it at his younger brother.

“Not my fault you slept with my instructor,”

“Listen… I… Fuck you,”

“I thought that was Sooyoung's job,”

“Im kicking you out,” announced Seokmin with a straight face, which only seconds later turned into a huge grin. The two laughed and laughed, tiredness causing them to go into hysterics. They laughed so loud that they didn’t even hear the doorbell ring, and an unknown man walk into the room. The man coughed, loudly and purposefully, and the two brothers stopped and turned around to find someone they had never seen before.

Seokmin jumped up and rushed behind the counter, not even registering the persons face until he was halfway through his sentence.

“Hi, sorry about that what can I get..,” Seokmin froze, suddenly forgetting what he was doing.  
It was just his luck that today was the day that a literal angel- no demigod, walked into their store. The stranger had large, kind eyes and soft round lips and fuck he’s staring at him as if Seokmin is the weirdest person he has ever met. Honestly he wouldn’t even be wrong.

“You...” Seokmin regained his ability to speak, finally “Sorry about that I zoned out, been a busy day,”

“Oh that’s okay,” smiled the stranger, the corners of his mouth ever so slightly rising above the rest. “Jeonghan from the florist across the road sent me, he said you would know his order,”

Seokmin mentally cursed… so this was Joshua. Now he understood why Jeonghan had smirked as he left the store, that bastard. He heard Chan move behind him, going to start Jeonghan's order, muttering something about Seokmin being useless.

“You must be Josh! He mentioned you when he came in this morning, would you like another caramel latte or something else?” 

“Can i just get a cup of tea or something?”

“Yeah sure, I’ll put the drinks on his tab,”

They fell into a comfortable silence, Chan and Seokmin working on the drinks while Joshua studied the various cakes and pastries on display. Chan raised his eyebrow at Seokmin, wiggling it slightly and laughing as Seokmin glared at him. Thankfully their guest remained oblivious to it all.

“Here you go!” announced Seokmin a little too enthusiastically, giving the drinks to Josh.

“Thanks, I never got your name, I’m Joshua Hong, but please call me Josh,”

“I’m Lee Seokmin and that's my annoying little brother Chan,” explained Seokmin, laughing as Chan piped up with a “You love me really,” from the store cupboard.

“Seokmin…” whispered Josh, seemingly thinking out loud. “I’ll remember that,”

They said goodbye and as Josh left the shop Chan appeared from out back, carrying a bag of coffee beans and an expression that said that Seokmin was doomed.

“Joshua Hong ey… it’s got a nice ring to it,” 

“Mmhmm,” hummed Seokmin, knowing it was safer not to reply.

“Hong Seokmin doesn’t sound bad either, or would it be Josua Lee…”

“If you don’t shut up I swear to god!”

“I like him, he's hot, and really nice,”

“He could be a serial killer,”

“I really don’t want to hear about your kinks right now,”

“That’s it you’re on toilet duty,”

“Fuck you,”

“I wish he would,” smirked Seokmin, knowing Chan heard it from the fake vomiting noises he could hear from behind him.

Seokmin had known he like dudes from pretty early on, but he never really thought about it until he hit sex ed in High School and suddenly he was face to face with the thing he had been avoiding for a long time. He still liked girls, even had a few pretty serious girlfriends throughout his time in education but he still couldn’t fight this little whisper in the back of his mind. It took a lot of time on wikianswers and tumblr before he felt comfortable with himself, but since he had a girlfriend at the time he didn’t really see any need to tell anyone just yet.

He’s not sure why he decided the night after his parents funeral to tell Chan. Seokmin thinks it’s was a mix of the sadness he felt knowing he never got to tell them, wanting to be open and honest and just closer with Chan now that he was his legal guardian and also the alcohol because oh boy had he had a lot of beer that night. 

“Hey Chan there's something I gotta tell you,” whispered Seokmin, not wanting the people walking by to hear him.

“What?” whispered Chan back, voice still slightly croaky.

“I’m bi”

“But I thought you were Korean?” replied Chan, sending the both of them into hysterics.

Seokmin smiled to himself, his younger brother really never missed a beat, especially not when it came to making vine references. It was their humour that got them through the past year, that and a lot of crying but that's... not the point. After that moment Chan then began his 6 month long plan to get Seokmin and his instructor Soonyoung together. It worked, if a one night stand counted as “getting together” but it was close enough for Chan, who still brings it up every single time he has a chance to.

Finally the sun began to set and at exactly 5:59pm Seokmin locked the front door and collapsed into the nearest booth. He could tell it was going to be one of those days where he eats some shitty microwavable meal and then falls asleep by 9. He lays there for a while, letting the white noise of the city lull him into a sense of security. He thinks about the day, makes a mental list of the supplies he will need to get over the weekend, and falls back once again to mental silence. Except not quite, because there's one thing that keeps playing on his mind and by thing he means person. Joshua Hong’s face is all he can see, and in that moment maybe it's all he wants to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to write seok and chan as brothers and seoksoo is cute as fuck so here we are. I'm sorry if its bad i haven't written anything in like a year so... lets go gays


	2. Is it allergy season or are you just really hot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joshua Hong attempts to flirt, among other things

Seokmin woke up in the same booth he had been in last night, to the sound of Chan cleaning the coffee machines, blanket wrapped around him haphazardly and a cup of tea waiting for him on the table.  He smiled to himself as he grasps the cup tightly, feeling its warmth radiating through his body. He could feel his back ache slightly - that's what you get for falling asleep in the cafe. He walked past Chan and mumbled a thank you, placing his dirty cup on the counter and heading upstairs for a shower. The flat above the shop was surprisingly large, the three bedrooms now a reminder of how small their family has gotten. Seokmin refuses to move into the bigger room despite the fact that he is cramped into his tiny little box which barely has enough room for his bed and desk. 

He strips off and steps into the shower, the warm water healing his pain in an instant. The shower is Seokmins favourite time of the day. He can sing his heart out and not care about whos listening. Seokmin knows he has a great voice, but the idea of performing in front of people has a sad tinge to it these days. Maybe one day he will be able to try it again. He thinks about Josh and suddenly he's singing When I Grow Up at the top of his lungs.

 

_ As more time passes, When I grow up I’ll understand you more _

_ My love my love my love, my dear _

 

Seokmin felt like an idiot, here he was a whole “adult” acting like a teenager with a crush. If only he could hear the songs of someone else just a few blocks down.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joshua woke to the sound of his alarm blaring. He had a lecture in 2 hours and usually it takes him about 1.5 to get out of bed but today he felt energised, well at least energised enough to get out of bed and into the shower. He passed Wonwoo in the living room, who was watching some shitty anime, and made a snarky remark about how he looked more cheerful than usual today.

He pressed play on his music and stepped into the shower, ready to enjoy the first shower in a long time where he doesn’t have to be somewhere in 5 minutes.

 

_ My love my love my love, my dear _

_ Don't you dare let go of my hands _

 

Josh likes to sing. He doesn’t have the greatest voice but it's okay. He thinks about Seokmin humming as he made him his drinks and wonders what the others voice sounds like. He can feel Wonwoo's judgement through the walls. So what if he had come back from work the happiest he had been in a long time. So what if all he can think about is the way Seokmin’s laugh sounds like the sweetest song he's ever heard or how his whole face lights up when he smiles.This is a no homo zone and Joshua Hong refuses to accept the fact that he has probably fallen for an angel... probably.

 

“Oh here comes lover boy,” chirps Seungkwan from the kitchen, laughing as Joshua glares at him.

 

“Would you shut up… Don’t you have somewhere to be? Its nearly 9,” replied Joshua, reaching for the leftover pizza from last night.

 

“There's some big boss type dude from the capital in this morning so Seungcheol gave me the morning off,”

 

“Maybe there are perks to being useless at your job,”

 

“Shut it,” snapped Seungkwan, “Anyway I was planning on getting some coffee do you wanna come?”

 

“Yeah sure,”

 

“Come on I wanna meet your boy,”

 

Joshua laughed as he was physically dragged out their shared apartment. None of them had known each other before moving in but over time they had become good friends. Seungkwan was just over 2 years his younger yet was somehow both more mature than Joshua and also the biggest kid he knew. It was always the topic of boys that bought out his childish nature the most.

 

“Do you remember what the cafe was called? Cus honestly I kinda just want to uber it,”

 

“No but it’s like 5 minutes away so suck it up were walking,”

 

“Gross...I forget your new job is so close. I’m jealous”

 

Seungkwan pulled out his headphones and put one in Josh’s ear. He laughed when he heard the first chords of my heart will go on by Celine Dion, Seungkwan really took every opportunity to annoy him. Josh turned the corner towards the cafe and was halted in his tracks by the other boys hand on his shoulder.

 

“Wait… are you taking me to the cafe with the plants out front?”

 

“Yeah...why?”

 

“Oh my god… THAT Seokmin?”

 

“Please don’t tell me you know him,”

 

Seungkwan burst into laughter at Joshua's plea.

 

“This is where I get coffee on the way to work… everyday… we’re like friends”

 

“Oh no…”

 

Josh felt a tug on his arm and was once again dragged by the younger. The butterflies in his stomach had been turned into slugs by the news that Seungkwan had not only met the new love of his life, but that he was also friends with him. His nerves heightened as they entered the shop but died down again slightly when he could only see Chan out front. Josh slipped silently into the booth by the front, not wanting to be seen by the young boy.

 

“Oh Seungkwan! You’re here late today,” smiled Chan. Josh could tell that Seungkwan was telling the truth and he was starting to regret everything.

 

“Got the morning off… is your better looking brother not around?” asked Seungkwan, purposefully trying to rile the other up.

 

“I’m the prettiest here and you know it,” quipped Chan, smirk matching the others “But he’s upstairs getting ready, dumbass fell asleep in the shop last night,”

 

Josh watched the exchange from behind a menu, laughing along at their banter. Since when did he get so lame, he’s not sure but he could hazard a guess.

 

He used this moment to properly look at the cafe. It was deceptively large, with multiple booths and tables scattered around the shop. There were plants everywhere, which Jeonghan informed him he had donated to the cafe when they opened up, and a large bookcase covering the back wall by the door to what Joshua assumed was their apartment upstairs. It has a nice cozy atmosphere despite its size and Joshua wonders what it's like when its full of people.

 

“Oi lover boy!” Seungkwan shouted from across the store, waking Josh up from his trance, “Come get your drink I'm not your bloody waiter,””

 

Josh rose from his seat and made his way to the counter, saying a quick “Hi!” to Chan as he picked up his drink. Just as he was about to turn around and head for his seat the door to the storage room opened and out walked Apollo, god of the sun, and the reason for Joshua’s inability to function. Seokmin was wearing a white shirt that was far too tight and blue skinny jeans, showing off his muscles and telling Josh that he absolutely, definitely worked out. His hair was style down and he looked just as good as yesterday. Josh realised that he was staring too late, and now was making awkward eye contact with said barista. Seokmin erupted into a smile and he could feel Seungkwan giggling beside him.

 

“Hi… Josh right?” Seokmin spoke softly, almost unsure of himself.

 

Josh let out a sound that was somewhere between a yes and a grunt. Not his finest move.

 

“You okay there buddy?” asked Seokmin, genuine worry appearing on his face.

 

“Come on Josh, say something,” teased Seungkwan, trying his hardest not to laugh.

 

“Are you a cup of coffee? Because I like you a latte,” Josh blurted out before his brain to mouth filter could stop him. Seungkwan stared at him, mouth open, visibly stunned. Chan laughed silently, whispering to himself and Seokmin looked at him shocked. Just as Josh was about to apologise and never come back the barista’s face broke out into a large grin, eyes curving upwards and cheekbones becoming even more prominent.

 

“That… was so lame!” Seokmin laughed, placing a hand on the counter to balance himself. 

 

Josh’s brain went into overdrive trying to figure out a way to save what little reputation he had left. All the pride he had built up over the last year was suddenly running down the drain and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

 

“And there's more where that came from if you want,” quipped Josh, winking at the barista and tugging on Seungkwan's arm, “Come on Seungkwan were done here,”

 

It wasn’t until they had closed the front door and made their way out of view of the cafe that Josh stopped, groaning as he fell onto the pavement in defeat. He pulled his hands over his face, hoping the ground would swallow him up whole. Seungkwan bent down, trying to balance himself and his coffee and failing miserably as he was now laughing at the others misfortune.

 

“God that was the funniest thing I think I’ve ever seen,” choked out Seungkwan between laughs.

 

“If you tell a soul I’ll have you hung,” ordered Joshua, although it sounded more like a beg than an order.

 

“Oh Im absolutely telling Minyu,” Seungkwan grinned, walking away quickly as if rushing to tell their roommate straight away.

 

“NO!” screamed Josh as he ran after the other, coffee spilling everywhere. £4 of coffee was a sacrifice he was willing to make if it meant he didn't have to endure a lifetime of bullying from Wonwoo.

 

The two eventually stopped running and decided to sit down on a bench in the park opposite their apartment. Josh sipped on Seungkwan's drink, having lost most of his to the antics of before.

 

“You know, there is a way you could salvage this moment slightly,” said Seungkwan, snatching back his drink.

 

“I’m scared… but continue,”

 

“Everytime you go into the shop you gotta say another ridiculously cheesy pick up line” explained Seungkwan, “Woo him with your words Hong Shakespeare!” 

 

Joshua thought for a moment. His reputation was already in tatters and another bad pick up line could ruin his chances of ever getting a boyfriend, but Seokmin did see to enjoy his lame attempt at flirting.

 

“I’m in,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters in 2 days... who is she...  
> Comments and kudos would be appreciated :)


	3. Call me a clown cus I'm boo boo the fool for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan and Jeonghan host a party and Seokmin lives out his high school musical dream.

Seokmin loved his brother, he really did. He was funny and kind, talented and an all round good person. Not to mention incredibly handsome and owner of a dazzling smile to rival Seokmins own... but right now… in this moment… he wanted to bang his head against the wall...

 

“Why are there so many people in our apartment! And why is the music SO LOUD!” shouted Seokmin over the house music currently destroying what little eardrums he had left.

 

“You need friends!” Chan shouted back, beer can in hand and a smile on his face that told Seokmin he had already had one too many, “I got Jeonghan to organise it!”

 

“No wonder there's so many people… please tell me this is it…”

 

“No! Sir Lancelot and his friends are meant to turn up soon, now go enjoy the party!” 

 

Chan pushed Seokmin into the crowd of people that was forming in the living room. He recognised Wonwoo and his friends from the cafe the other day and decided to go join them. Chan was probably right. He had had a less that average social life since the accident. His friends from school stopped caring when he couldn’t go out every weekend, but that was for the better - they were kinda dicks anyway.

 

“Hey Seokmin bro!” shouted Vernon excitedly, wrapping his arm around Seokmin’s shoulder, “You remember me right? I didn’t expect you to be here!”

 

“Its his house dumbass,” groaned Wonwoo

 

“Your place is nice! Real big for the both of you,” Mingyu said innocently

 

“Thanks,” replied Seokmin, trying his best to keep calm, “Anyway how did you guys get invited?”

 

“The boss of my roo- it doesn’t matter what does matter is that we're here to give you the best night of your life!” explained Wonwoo, smiling and handing Seokmin a beer before proceeding to chug his down in one.

 

“WOO PARTY!” screamed Vernon

 

“Alright time to slow it down a little dude,” sighed Wonwoo

 

Seokmin laughed at his new...friends. Was it too early to call them that? He didn’t know or really care at this point. He could feel the stress lift from his shoulders ever so slightly. He spoke to Mingyu for a bit while Wonwoo was trying and failing to calm Vernon down. He learnt that the other was a year younger than him, currently studying physiology at uni and that he was a keen football player. Seokmin dramatically fell to the floor when Mingyu explained that he supported Man U… How could he... His new friend was already dead to him.

 

Seokmin went to the kitchen to grab some food and found Jeonghan and Seungcheol chatting in the corner. He always forgets that they’re friends. Jeonghan is so out there and exciting, kind but always with a mischievous glint in his eye, while Seungcheol seems... kind of boring if Seokmin was to be honest. “They looked good together” Seokmin thought, and from the leather jacket Seungcheol was wearing there was probably more to him than Seokmin knew about.

 

“Seokminnie!” Jeonghan called from the other side of the room, his voice slightly more high pitched than usual “Do you like the party? I threw it just for you!”

 

“Thank you Jeonghan, but could you not have done it somewhere else?” asked Seokmin, slightly tired of being at the end of Jeonghan and Chan’s endless antics

 

“You wouldn’t have come and you know it!” 

 

Seokmin shut up because, for once. the elder was right. He grabbed a sandwich out from the fridge and left the two to continue their incredibly deep conversation about giraffe necks.

 

He rejoined Mingyu, who was now chatting to a group of people Seokmin had never met before. There was a tiny dude called Jihoon who was currently attempting to stop mullet man, who Mingyu had introduced to him as Minghao, from chugging the bottle of vodka in his hand while another man called Jun was laughing from the sidelines. The small mans attention was dragged away from his friend to the door. Seokmin didn’t register this until he heard Jihoon shout across the room.

 

“Soonyoung! Get your ass over here!”

 

Seokmin froze. He hadn’t seen Soonyoung since their one night stand which ended with Seokmin asking if he wanted to grab a coffee sometime and getting brutally rejected. His heart hadn’t been ripped out by the others rejection, more that he was just kind of disappointed. But Seokmin was a responsible adult now, and responsible adults don’t run away from situations like this.

 

“Hey Jihoon!” replied Soonyoung, walking quickly towards their group, “Oh Seokmin you’re here too! I didn’t expect to see you here…”

 

“This is literally my house… how does no one know its my house…” complained Seokmin halfheartedly.

 

“Jeonghan  _ may _ have said that this was Seungcheol’s place,” replied Jun

 

“I mean it does make sense for him to host a party in his boyfriend's flat,” quipped Jihoon

 

“BOYFRIEND?!”

 

“Did… did you not know?” Mingyu asked, confused.

 

“I’ll be right back,” answered Seokmin, already moving towards the kitchen.

 

Seokmin had a plan. How dare he not know that they were dating! He saw both of them every single day and yet he seemed to be the only one not clued up. He entered the kitchen where the two were still sat and dramatically cleared his throat.

 

“Ahem, Mr Yoon Jeonghan…” 

 

“Yes Mr Lee Seokmin?”

 

“How could you not tell me you guys were dating?!” Seokmin asked, crossing his arms and huffing loudly. He pouted his lips slightly, the finishing touch to his dramatic display.

 

He watched as Jeonghan’s expression changed from smug to worried, his plan was working. Jeonghan’s paternal instinct always kicked in the second Seokmin or Chan were the slightest bit unhappy and it was safe to say that Seokmin was using this for his own gain.

 

“Seokminnie I am so sorry!” cried Jeonghan, running up to hug the younger.

 

“Okay you’ve had more drink than I thought…” muttered Seokmin as he held the other in his arms, “It’s okay I was just joking please don’t cry… but if you  _ really _ wanted to make it up to me you would tell me what food Josh likes,”

 

He could hear Seungcheol laughing in the background. At least he would serve as a witness for when Jeonghan sobers up.

 

“I will find out for you!” promised Jeonghan, making Seokmin cross pinkies with him to cement the deal.

 

Seungcheol appeared from behind and dragged Jeonghan away, smiling at Seokmin as he did. The other’s calm was a nice contrast to Jeonghan's more extravagant nature and Seokmin could see that he deeply cared about his friend. He silently gave them his blessing. If he broke Jeonghan’s heart he could always just poison his coffee anyway.

 

The next hour went by in a blur of laughing, dancing and singing his heart out. He’s unsure how it happened but suddenly he's standing on their dining table with Jihoon screaming his lungs out to fancy by twice and loving every moment of it. As the song comes to an end the crowd erupts into cheers and Seokmin leans on the smaller man to stop himself from falling. Jihoon drops down from the table and goes to change the song, but is stopped by Chan. Seokmin hadn’t seen his younger brother all evening but the same wicked grin was still plastered all over his face. He hears the first notes to run to you and he knows exactly what Chan is playing at. Chan jumps up onto the table and gives Seokmin a kilowatt smile.

 

“Everybody make some noise for LEE SEOKMIN!” Chan shouts, jumping back down in an instant.

Seokmin froze. It had been so long since he sang onstage properly and he felt his memories try to swallow him whole. He scanned the room for a distraction, but everyone's eyes were glued to him; waiting, expecting. Seokmin’s eyes travelled to the back of the crowd, and he made eye contact with Josh. He didn’t know when the other had arrived but now that he had seen him the rest of the room seemed to blur out of focus. 

 

“Fuck it lets GO!” screamed Seokmin, jumping up and punching the air.

 

His body moves instinctively, like a dance he had practiced over and over and over again. He walked around the table, which was now his stage, leaning down to touch the hands of the crowd who would scream like fangirls every time he came near them. As the chorus kicks in the crowd joins in and suddenly the room is alive. He air guitars the instrumental, kicks with the drums and jumps along with the rest of the room. The bridge of the song begins to play and Seokmin jumps down to the ground. His feet move before he has time to register what he’s doing but watches as they lead him across the room to where Josh is standing.

 

_ I’m going, I’ll try to tell you my heart _

_ Even if it won’t reach you by any chance _

_ Even if I get more breathless, I’ll run quickly _

_ So please wait there a little more _

 

Seokmin’s heart is racing as he stares into the others eyes. He watches as Josh mouths along the words, stuck in the same unnerving trance as Seokmin. He wishes he could stay like this forever. The guitars kick in once again and Seokmin is snapped out of his dream like state. He runs back to the table and launches himself onto it just in time to send out the final chorus with a bang. The song finishes and he's left there on the table panting and breathless. 

 

The crowd erupts to an even louder roar than before,  drowning out the buzzing in Seokmin’s ears. He finds Josh easily. The other had made his way to the front of the crowd and was smiling at him in a way that made Seokmin’s insides twist. Seokmin knew he was smiling too, the adrenaline rush of the performance still running through his veins. He remained in the position, the buzzing in his ears getting louder and louder. He could see his vision fading but before he could do anything he felt his limbs give way and he fell into the crowd.

 

He looks up and sees 10 people staring down at him, worried expressions lining their faces.

 

“Are you okay?” asks Jeonghan as he pulls Seokmin off of the ground

 

“Yeah just overdid myself,” smiles Seokmin, stumbling into the elder as he says it, “I could probably do with going outside for a minute though,”

 

“Josh take the boy downstairs won't you? I need to go find my boyfriend,” Jeonghan orders, wrapping Seokmin’s arm around the others shoulders.

“Uh sure yeah ok,” 

 

Josh leads (drags) Seokmin out of the apartment, down the stairs and out the front door onto the street. He gently places him down on the pavement and sits beside him, eyes scanning him for any cut or bruise. 

 

“I’m fine,” says Seokmin, staring down at the floor, “I mean...I didn’t hit anything on the way down at least,”

 

“I’ll take your word on that one,” replied Josh

 

They fall into a comfortable silence as they stare out into the dark expanse of the night. The street, which is usually busy during the day, is void of all traffic and life. Seokmin can still hear the music coming from his apartment and cringes slightly at the complaints his neighbours are likely to have tomorrow morning.

 

“You were incredible up there ya know,” Joshua spoke softly, as if he was afraid of being heard.

 

“Thanks,” whispered Seokmin, “It means a lot,”

 

“Have you ever considered doing it as a career like you could go anywhere with a voice like that!”

 

“I mean I have… I tried for a bit but then… you know… the cafe...and Chan… and...and…” 

 

“Seokmin…”

 

Josh put his hand on his shoulder and leaned in slightly, so that Seokmin had no choice to look at him. His eyes were scanning Seokmin’s face, as if staring at every little detail would somehow give him the answer he needed. Josh moved closer, wrapping his arm around his shoulders and pushing Seokmin’s head so it rested on his own.

 

“Seokmin…” Josh said gently, “You can cry if you want to,”

 

And so he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im enjoying myself far too much writing this  
> I should be revising but here we are dsdfdsdf


	4. I'm not a narcissist but I really think you like me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids bond after the party.

Seokmin woke up the next morning with the biggest headache of his life. He groaned as he opened his eyes, the bright light of the morning streamlining directly onto his face. He felt a weight on his arm and turned his head slightly to find Joshua asleep, using his arm as a pillow.

“Ah fuck,” muttered Seokmin, resigning himself to lying on the floor until the other boy wakes.

He stared at other peacefully sleeping and felt the butterflies once again appear like a foghorn warning him of what was to come. Josh looked serene, beautiful even, and Seokmin wished for nothing more than to stroke his hair and whisper sweet nothings in his ear. But he didn't because that would be creepy, especially when you barely know the other, and instead gently pulled his arm from under him and placed a pillow where he was instead. He got up slowly, legs aching from the night before.

Seokmin scanned the room. The usually tidy living room was a mess, beer cans littered the room and there was some stain on the wall that Seokmin refused to even go near. He sighed, that was to be expected after a house party after all. What he wasn’t expecting was the 5 people currently passed out on the floor. Wonwoo, Mingyu, Vernon, Joshua and Chan were all collapsed in an odd circle shape, all tangled up together in the small section between the sofa and the tv. Seokmin laughed and grabbed his phone from the table, taking a photo of his new found friends and smiling as he sent the photo to Jeonghan.

He stumbled into the kitchen, appreciating that it had been kept somewhat today throughout the night. Seokmin was no neat freak but he did enjoy being able to see the floor. He began placing the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, careful not to wake up the others with the noise. He hummed to himself as he tidied, smiling wide as the sun shined through the window. The peace of the morning was a welcome contrast from the mayhem of the night before and Seokmin enjoyed every second of it. Seokmin could hear movement from the living room and looked up to see Chan stumbling towards him still half asleep, with his hair shooting off in about 20 different directions.

 

“Good morning sunshine!” sang Seokmin, laughing as his younger brother groaned.

“Too early in the morning for your endless enthusiasm… when did you wake up?” mumbled Chan who was still half asleep.

“Like an hour ago, I’m not a lazy ass like someone I know.”

“Hey you always let me sleep in on a saturday this is unfair!”

“Yeah whatever, you’re still on clean up duty,”

“What no?! Even the gross stain on the wall?”

“Yeah suck it up bitch!” laughed Seokmin as he sat down on the kitchen stool, “But don’t wake Josh up or I’ll kill you,”

“Whatever lover boy…” sulked Chan as he reached for the cleaning supplies from under the sink.

 

Chan turned around and flipped Seokmin off before leaving the room. Seokmin watched as his brother got to work, mild guilt quickly turning to laughter as he watched him pour beer down himself while picking up the cans from the table. He grabbed his phone and messaged Jeonghan, telling him to “get his ass over here before Chan ends up drenched in alcohol” and returned to entertaining himself through Chans misery. 20 minutes passed before Wonwoo emerged from the floor, confused look on his face as he tried to remember where he was.

One by one the rest of the group woke up and joined Seokmin in the kitchen. They sat around the table, all in various stages of being hungover or (in Vernon’s case) still drunk. Mingyu was recounting a very long story about his family holiday to Japan when he was 8 to Seokmin who had stopped listening 10 minutes ago, and kept being interrupted my Wonwoo telling him to “shut the fuck up please”. Vernon was the only one paying attention, nodding enthusiastically and laughing far too loudly at the tall boy’s expense. Seokmin turned his head towards the doorway to see Joshua still asleep on the floor.

 

“Should I wake him?” whispered Seokmin to himself. He was so focused on the other boy that he didn’t even hear Mingyu answering his question.

“Seokmin… Seokmin... earth to Seokmin…” sighed Mingyu, pouting slightly as he continued to be ignored.

Wonwoo coughed loudly, waking Seokmin up from the trance he was in. The others laughed as Seokmin stared at them confused.

“Anyway, as Mingyu was trying to tell you” laughed Wonwoo, “Don’t even bother trying to wake Josh it’s impossible,”

“Guess he’s a deep sleeper,”

“You don’t even know…” groaned Vernon, “Long story short the cops came over to our dorm in our first year of uni to search the place and he slept through the entire thing,”

“The cops did WHAT?”

“Vernon please be quiet I finally have a normal friend don’t scare him away,”

 

Vernon and Wonwoo began to bicker, Wonwoo slowly but surely losing his patience. Mingyu couldn’t hold it in any longer and laughed, placing his hand on Wonwoo’s shoulder to balance himself. The elder glared at him purposefully before cracking and laughing with him. Vernon was already on the floor in pieces and Seokmin was unsure about how he had gotten there. Seokmin wasn’t completely sure what was going on but that wasn’t what he was thinking about.

Wonwoo had called him his friend.

Friend.

He had friends.

Seokmin couldn’t stop himself as he felt tears roll down his cheeks. The other 3 were too caught up in their laughter to notice but Seokmin was glad. He could blame it on the alcohol if they saw him anyway. They passed the rest of the morning sat around the kitchen exchanging stories and laughing so, so much. Chan eventually joined them, telling the rest of them about the time Seokmin had poured coffee down the shirt of the ceo of some big name finance company who threatened to have them closed.

 

“Did he just forget about it then?” asked Mingyu who had been listening attentively to the whole story.

“Well… you see…” Seokmin stuttered, still embarrassed about the situation even after 2 years.

“His daughter thought Seokmin was cute so he let us off,” interrupted Chan loudly, unable to contain himself.

The room erupted into laughter and cheers. Seokmin was so caught up in it all that he didn’t even notice a lone figure appear in the doorway, watching the madness erupt.

“What's this I hear about a ceo’s daughter?” smiled Joshua. He was leaning against the doorway, hair still a mess from sleeping on the floor.

“Oh she thought I was cute,” answered Seokmin, before adding quickly “But she wasn’t my type,”

“And who is?” asked Joshua, raising his eyebrows slightly and making Seokmin lose his brain to mouth filter.

“You…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its been like a month but fdbskjkfbsddsf a levels are a bitch what can i say...  
> hope you enjoyed it!!!

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write seok and chan as brothers and seoksoo is cute as fuck so here we are. I'm sorry if its bad i haven't written anything in like a year so... lets go gays


End file.
